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Friday, May 29, 2015

I had a crazy busy week this week in the crafty world. My husband is on vacation but the kids still have a few more days left of school because of snow days. So I've been taking this time to make all the things! I'm excited to show them to you but first I'll take care of the giveaway that I posted about last week.

The winner came out as comment #3 who happens to be Amy from Amy's Crafty Shenanigans! Congrats Amy! I have sent you an email.

I also finished up my Alison Glass mini for my mini swap. This is my ALYoF goal for May as well as #2 on my Q2FAL list. I am so happy with how this turned out and just love the colors and the quilting. I used the Sea Breeze mini pattern for this one and will definitely use this one again.

I alternated quilting with straight-ish lines in the three colors that appeared in each section. I think the back looks so neat and it is as awesome as the front in my book.

Here's a closer shot of the quilting. I love how it looks and how the different colors of thread really create a different feel. Speaking of feel the texture is pretty amazing.

I added my Sweetwater tag as usual but had to cover up the name. She hasn't posted that she received it yet so I don't want to give anything away.

Here's what I ended up sending to my swap partner. She is a school teacher and asked for supplies. I had fun going through my stash to pick out some good stuff for her.

I may have developed a bit of a Curvy Clutch obsession. I made seven this week and they were so much fun! I love them!

I'm amazed at how different they all came out. I am also amazed at my use of pinks for the top. I would not have said I was a particular fan of pink but this would say otherwise.

I think this one turned out pretty neat. It is double-sided. I made it with scraps I had leftover from a mini.

This one is for me and the only one I plan on keeping. I love the multicolored zip and the pop of color on the inside. I have been saving this tangram print for a while now as well as the zip for the perfect project. LOVE!

Speaking of love my littlest girl got an upgrade this week. I really wish I would have taken a picture of the sad state of her toy stroller before but you're just going to have to trust me that it needed this. We went to the fabric store together and she picked this cute whale print. With the help of double fold bias tape it was finished in less than an hour and she has been dragging it all over the house ever since.

I think this Hour Basket may be my favorite thing I created this week. Once again with Alison Glass scraps (I may be obsessed) and some quilters linen. The inside is one of my favorite prints from her Handcrafted line. This is also for a swap but let me tell you it was so hard for me to ship it out.

My partner posted several times about how she didn't need any extras so I tried to keep it light while still being fun. This was a great swap and I can't wait until she gets it!

As if all that wasn't enough I also finished up this adorable sheep hat from a shop order. This one is adult size and they look so cute on! You can find this, and many other styles, in my shop.

Thanks for stopping by! I can't believe how much I was able to finish this week! We're going on a trip next week so I know it won't be as productive but it may just be more fun. I'm linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.

Friday, May 22, 2015

So, this week my blog reached over 100,000 hits! I'm so excited that this little blog I started to keep a record of my projects is doing so well. Even more amazing is my Instagram account. I already have nearly 500 followers there. I love everything about Instagram. So, I made a few things this week a knit hat, an hour basket, and a Curvy Clutch. I'll get to the giveaway at the end.

I finished my second Fair Isle hat and I love it even more than the first! The colors of this one are so much more me and the hat was a little more loose so it fits my head better.

I love how neat the insides of these hats look. I used to be love to cross stitch and I always thought the same thing about those backs too.

Here are the two hats together. The one on the left I just finished and the one on the right follows the pattern. You can find the pattern by Feral Knitter here.

Also, I am in a hour basket swap so I thought I'd whip one up so I knew the ropes before making a fancier one. I adore this Cotton and Steel print with the metallic dots from Dear Stella and have three things from this combo now. The basket went together really well and I can't wait to whip up another one.

I've also started working on teacher presents. This is the Curvy Clutch from Pink Door Fabrics and it is amazing! Seriously, if you don't own one you should. Which brings me to the giveaway...

I am giving away two curvy clutches in the colors or designer of your choice. One giveaway will run on Instagram and one here. Feel free to enter both. When the giveaway ends next Friday I will pick a winner and let you know. Then we'll work together to get the fabric you love.

To enter the giveaway here simply leave a comment telling me your favorite fabric designers or colors. I've been branching out lately and love hearing new names to try and new color combinations. The giveaway will close with my post next Friday and I will announce a winner. PLEASE, make sure I have a way to contact you. If you are a no reply blogger leave an email. If I can't contact you through email you will not be eligible to win. Followers are always appreciated but not necessary to win. Since I know my hits are coming in from all over the world to celebrate I am willing to ship anywhere you happen to be.

You can also find me on Instagram @julieschloemer and enter to win there as well. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week! To help get the word out I'm linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.

Friday, May 15, 2015

I had some fun this week. None of what I made was for me but I love it all and had/will have a hard time parting with each of these things. I finished the top of my mini which was my ALYoF goal for May. I also made a bag for my sister-in-law and finished up a swap package with a cute little zipper pouch.

I had some free time and finished up this adorable mini for my Alison Glass mini swap partner. I used the Sea Breeze Mini pattern and I just love how this turned out. I would love to finish it this month but I am waiting on some fabric which is on back order so it may not happen.

My Sister-in-law has been my best customer lately. She's been ordering gifts for her fellow teacher friends. I've loved making things for her and this bag was no exception. It is a Super Tote. The guidelines I received for this were: red, blue, and longer straps.

I did this adorable print as the lining for the bag. I made the pockets to match too. I skipped the zipper on this one and don't think the bag is any worse for it.

I just love the print on the outside. It's a Japanese print that I found in my LQS and it's stealing my heart. I may have to go back for more because I barely bought enough for this bag. Also the green on the outside is a Dear Stella print and the dots are metallic, love!

To finish off my pincushion swap I added this cute little pouch. It's based on the Open Wide Zippered Pouch tutorial but I had to change the measurements a bit to fit the fabric I had on hand.

Here's what I mailed out to her today. I love the miniature sewing machine that you can barely see. It's so adorable! I hope she loves it and I can't wait to see what my partner came up with for me this time.

That's me for this week. It's so fun to sew for other people sometimes but I'm excited to get back to a little selfish sewing next week. I'm doing the Farm Girl Vintage QAL and I also have some more swoon blocks using Miss Kate to work up. I'm linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.

Friday, May 8, 2015

I finished several fun things this week and I'm so excited about them. Some of the fabrics are not my usual taste but they are perfect for the people I made them for. I finished two pillows for my Mom for Mother's Day. A table/bed runner for my Mother-in-law. A pincushion for myself and another for a swap partner. All of the fabric, batting, and thread for all of these projects came from my stash. Feeling pretty awesome about using what I have lately. I'll start with the pillows since they were on my Q2FAL list.

Here are the finished pillows for my mother. These are #4 on my Q2FAL list. I'm so excited to have these finished and sent off to her. One of the pillows is flipped so you can see the back fabric too.

Here are both the fronts. I love the texture from the quilting on these. I made her this quilt for her bed back in 2012 and sent her the extra fabric to play with. Recently she mailed it back to me to make her extra things with it like pillows. I can't wait to see what they look like on her bed.

I love the pop of color with the red binding and how I had the perfect thread to do my usual zigzag camouflage binding.

This is what I made for my Mother-in-law. She loves deep red, green, and cream. They also own some land in Wyoming so I thought the farm theme would be fun for them. This is the Silo Barn Table Runner from the Farm Girl Vintage book.

The fabric is not my usual go to - probably why it has been in my stash for 4+ years. I do love the pattern though and sheep are one of my favorites.

Also a big accomplishment this week I cleaned up my crafting space. Check out all that desktop showing! I have since moved my iron away from the back of the couch and put it up against the wall under the window just to the right.

So I've been in love with the Farm Girl Vintage book and have already made another project from it! The apron strings block was the assignment for #farmgirlfridays and I whipped up this little one with my current favorite fabric.

Then I made it into a pincushion! LOVE! I cannot tell you how much I wanted this to happen for years now. Not this pattern, since it's new, but I've been rocking one of those tomato pincushions for about 11 years now and have been over it for a while.

I'm also in a pincushion swap started on Instagram. This is my offering for my partner. I'm pretty in love with it. Check out the awesome wheels that look like tire tread! They are metallic silver too. Pretty fun. The pattern, which I changed a tad, can be found here.

Thanks for stopping by and hurray for super productive weeks! My hubby has been working afternoons so I get to be all crafty in the mornings now too. It's sure helped get the Mother's day projects finished and shipped off. I'm linking up with TGIFF and Finish It Up Friday.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

I finished up a few yarn things this week. A pair of mittens for myself and a tiny fire hat for an order. I also started and made great progress on mother's day presents. One of them is finished and already in the mail the other is pretty close. I'll share what I can today and the rest later in the week. This is also the post to set my ALYoF goal and we'll start with that so it's easy to find.

My goal for May is to turn this lovely little bunch of fabric into a mini quilt top. I don't know if I can get it quilted as there are many other things on my list but I want at least the top done.

These mittens are #14 on my Q2FAL list. I'm excited to have them done but bummed that it took me so long. The day I finished them it was 80* outside - way too hot for mittens. They'll be ready for Winter though and they are so cute! The pattern is the Cozy Purl Ridge Mittens.

Isn't this tiny hat adorable?! This is the Newborn size Fire Hat and was a custom order from my shop. The buyer is starting up a photography business and I can't wait to see her pictures of a sweet little baby in it!

In 2012 I made this quilt for my mom. She asked for my leftovers to make pillows and stuff with. Fast forward a couple of years later and she has mailed the fabric back to me to do something with. Enter this fabulous Mother's Day present! These are the same blocks she has in her quilt. I'll show you the quilting, back, and binding later this week so it is still a surprise for her.

Being so active on Instagram I get sucked into a lot of awesome. One of which is the #farmgirlfridays with the new Farm Girl Vintage book. I got my book this week in the mail and picked out my fabric, all of it from stash - score! I hope to finish the first block and a little pin cushion before the next assignment is posted on Friday.

I saw this project in the book and thought it was perfect for my Mother-in-law. I'm nearly finished with the table runner and although the fabric is really not my style I'm loving this. The fabrics are all from my stash and totally her style. I will have to do it again in more modern prints.

Sheep are one of my favorite animals and I'm pretty in love with this. I am, however, annoyed at the quilting. I read somewhere that when quilting straight lines you're supposed to alternate what direction you go from. Well, I tried that, I'm sure you can see where, and it was super-annoying with the shifting. So then I went only from one side and it is so smooth. I really don't want to unpick all that quilting so we're going to call it texture and lesson learned.

Well, that's me for now. Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back later to share the completed Mother's Day projects and hopefully a pin cushion or two. Until then I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday.